Genome-wide analyses presented here have revealed, as expected, more extensive LD in isolated populations than in outbred populations. It can be presumed that the average r2 value, particularly at larger inter-marker distances, reflects the extent of panmixia in a population. Indeed, the Kuusamo sample, a population isolate that was established from a small number of founders only 300 years ago, had the highest r2 irrespective of distance in our and previous studies [26]. At the other end of the scale was Geneva, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe, which yielded the lowest r2 values. Thus, our data corroborate earlier suggestions that the amount of LD that persists over time is markedly reduced in more admixed populations [27]. Surprisingly, the Polish cohort showed a similar LD pattern as the Kuusamo population, which is probably reflecting the homogeneity of the Polish population. Here the similarity could be attributed to the founder effect or admixture as the Polish sample comes from West Pomerania, a region that was repopulated after the Second World War, after the expulsion of the German population, with
